Scary Fanged Cannibal Fish Washes Ashore ... Alive!

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Visitors to Jennette's Pier in Nags Head, North Carolina, were
shocked last week when an evil-looking fanged fish washed up
alive on the shore.

The monstrous fish has been identified as a long-snouted
lancetfish (Alepisaurus ferox), a nocturnal predator
that's rarely seen near shore. The fish are known not only by
their large fangs and tall dorsal fin, but also by their habit of
eating their own species.

Lancetfish are also known as handsaw fish, because of their
prominent, jagged dorsal fin, which runs almost the entire length
of their back. The fish have no scales — their scientific name,
Alepisaurus, translates as "scaleless lizard" — and
their skin is instead covered with pores.

They can grow to be as long as 6.5 feet (2 meters) in length.
Lancetfish generally feed at night, and in addition to dining on
other lancetfish, they also eat crustaceans, squid and smaller
species of fish.

Lancetfish are in turn preyed upon by seals, sharks and
other large fish, including tuna. They're not considered a good
fish for human consumption, because their muscles contain large
amounts of water, making their flesh somewhat mushy. Fishermen,
in fact, consider the lancetfish a "trash" fish that sometimes
takes bait intended for more profitable catches such as tuna.

The fact that their muscles have a high water content makes it
unlikely that the lancetfish can move quickly or pursue other
prey, so scientists speculate the lancetfish is an ambush
predator — it probably uses its big dorsal fin to accelerate in
short bursts to overcome prey.

The fish are found in open waters throughout tropical and
subtropical oceans, though they've been known to travel as far
north as Greenland and Iceland.

The lancetfish found in North Carolina was alive when it washed
up on shore, but when it was carried back out into deeper water
it washed ashore again, indicating it may have been sick,
according to
Nature World News.